Trumpism has crushed me – not just intellectually, but emotionally, in my gut.
American education ingrained this into me.
I was brought up to believe that democracy, the rule of law, due process, equal rights, etc. were sacrosanct. I bought into the whole democracy ideal like a religion. Despite its many failures, I did not question the fact that democracy was far better than dictatorship. I felt this to the core, with my entire being.
I carried this feeling with me when living in Third-World countries like Uganda or Cambodia, where tinpot tyrants like Idi Amin or Pol Pot drove their countries into ruin. I could lift my head up high, feeling that American democracy was far superior to the morass of corruption and abuse I saw in those countries. And the people in those countries admired my American ideals.
Now, Trumpism has come along and is destroying the democracy I believed in. What really crushes me, however, is how almost half of all Americans support this destruction of democracy. Some 47% of all Americans approve of Trump’s behavior. They rejoice at the kidnapping of innocent non-white Americans and shipping them off, without any due process, to Alligator Auschwitz or El Salvador torture camps. They approve of sending American soldiers against American citizens in Democratic states where crime rates have actually fallen. They think that slavery was ‘not all that bad’. And worst of all, they cheer a 34-count felon and serial child-rapist as their President, who even boasts of his sexual assaults.
This is what almost half of all Americans are celebrating.
I was also brought up in the Christian church, where I was thoroughly imbued with the ideals of loving thy neighbor, being nice to everyone, and helping the less fortunate. Throughout my life, I have witnessed Christians becoming more openly racist, bigoted, cruel, and filled with hate. I could make a strong case that Satan has completely taken over the so-called Christian church. These are the Americans I grew up with. What happened to them?
This is worse than saddening to me; it destroys any faith I had in Americans. I am no longer proud to be an American, as I can no longer communicate with people who openly want to destroy the America I knew and believed in, all just to please their cult leader.
I still remember a note card that my old government teacher Mr. Steele had us memorize: “When America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” The values expressed in those note cards have apparently been thrown out the window, as Americans now focus on vengeance, cruelty, hatred, and persecuting the vulnerable and less fortunate. America is ceasing to be great.